Forest Management

Significant public consultation was sought and considered in determining the forest management goals and objectives for the Community Forest which guided the preparation of the Management Plan.

The Community Forest agreement between the Ministry of Forest and Range and the Alberni Valley Community Forest Corporation was signed at City Hall in Port Alberni on November 2, 2009. This agreement has a term of 25 years. The agreement also formalizes the management plan contained within the application and subsequent agreement.

The Minister of Forests and Range (MoFR), on behalf of the Province of British Columbia, invited the City of Port Alberni to apply for a Probationary Community Forest Agreement for a term of 5 years with an Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) of 22, 000m³. The AAC is the amount of timber from public forest lands that can be logged legally each year, expressed in cubic metres. Several initially proposed areas have been removed from the proposal and since this document was prepared the AAC has been reduced to 18,688m³.

Consultation with the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations, whose traditional territories include the proposed area of the Port Alberni Community Forest, is ongoing. The ongoing dialogue clarifies First Nations forest management ideals and will result in the inclusion of aboriginal values into forest management planning. The Hupacasath management philosophy is incorporated into the standards of their Land Use Plan. This plan will be integrated with the Community Forest objectives in the Management Plan required for the licence.

The City of Port Alberni posted a “Request for Proposals to Provide Consulting Services to Facilitate a Community Forest Licence” as the city needs to apply for the Probationary Community Forest Agreement. To apply for the probationary agreement the city needs show that the community wants the forest licence and has the capacity to manage the land base. The application must document community support for the project; create a plan to manage forest resources; and develop a business plan. DRH consulting was hired to implement the licence agreement application.

The City of Port Alberni retained DRH Forestry Consulting to undertake a viability assessment of the proposed Alberni Valley Community Forest. This assessment determines if it is possible to achieve the anticipated AAC over a ten year period, and whether the timber available will provide a viable business opportunity.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN:
The Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP) is a requirement of the Forest Range and Practices Act (2004). The FSP is a landscape level plan, which is focused on establishing strategies and results for conserving and protecting timber and non-timber resource values for forest management activities over the life of the plan. Read more…